Re: Pipes and pipe gons for Farmington

Chris has it basically correct in his post. Oil field "tubulars" come in a huge assortment of sizes. There are two basic groups just as Chris said. Those that go in the ground are the types I am familiar with. They are Casing, Drill Pipe and Tubing. All of them are known by their outside diameter. Sizes commonly used in the San Juan Basin would be:

Drill Pipe: 3 1/2" & 4 1/2"
Tubing: 2 3/8" & 2 7/8" and possibly 3 1/2"
Casing: A huge variety here, but commonly 9 5/8", 8 5/8", 7" (very common)
5 1/2" (also very common), and 4 1/2" (again very common)

All of these have threads on each end: male on one end and female on the other. The individual joints of pipe screw together to make whatever length is needed for a particular well. The place where two joints actually screw together is larger in diameter than the main body of the pipe; on drill pipe it is called a tool joint and on casing and tubing it is called a collar. On drill pipe there is one of these larger diameter tool joints on each end of the pipe, and on casing there is a collar on only one end. Generally, the length of these three types of pipe are in the 30-33 foot range. This info is correct for my experience in oil and gas production of the past 42 years, but it is possible that some different sizes were in use in the 50's. All of these tubulars are steel; no aluminum or cast iron. The pipe used on the surface of the ground would be for flow lines, pipelines and the like. I don't know much about this stuff--I'm strictly a downhole guy.

Dick
Roosevelt, Utah